A standard position-holding motor-vehicle door latch for securing together two relatively movable body parts such as described in German patent 3,406,116 of H. Brackmann has a housing mounted on one of the parts, a bolt mounted on the other part and engageable in the housing, a fork pivotal in the housing between a latched position engaging around the bolt when therein and an unlatched position permitting the bolt to enter and exit the housing, and a pawl pivotal in the housing between a holding position retaining the fork in the latched position and a freeing position permitting the fork to move between its positions. A release lever engageable with the pawl is pivotal in the housing between a holding position holding the pawl in its freeing position and a freeing position in which it does not impede movement of the pawl between its positions. A position-holding element engageable in the housing with the lever is movable between a blocking position preventing movement of the lever out of the freeing position and an unblocking position permitting movement of the lever between its positions. A link couples the element to the fork for putting the element in the unblocking position when the fork is in the open position.
The advantage of such an arrangement is that if for some reason the door, typically a trunk or hatch lid, sticks shut, as happens for example in cold weather when the seal is wet and freezes, the lid can be forced open. If not for the position hold, it would be necessary to pull up on the hood while the latch is being actuated remotely, something impossible for one person.
A disadvantage of this system, however, is that it is possible to actuate the trunk or hatch release and, when same does not open, to subsequently forget that in fact the latch is holding in the open position. Later the hatch or trunk can fly open, creating a potentially very dangerous situation.